OCTOBER 9, 1998

Advisory Board members were welcomed by both Jeff Mazanec, Vice Chair, and Dean Shultz.

There is a larger freshman enrollment which poses a real challenge. Of the total 1,126 new freshmen, 43% or 482 are EMS students.

The process has begun to hire a new Dean. The composition of the Search and Screen Committee is being finalized. The new Dean should be in place next spring.J. Wilson will again head up the student recruitment meetings which were so successful last year. The meetings will be held in the Fox Valley and Green Bay areas. The first Women In Engineering scholarship was awarded this year to an incoming freshman. The Engineering Scholarship Brochure was printed and disseminated. The College is in the process of the development of three Web-based coursesin Controls and Safety.

The Master's of Project Management program received several letters of support from Advisory Board members. The Board of Regents held the first reading for the program on October 8. The final reading will take place in November.

The Major Gifts Campaign becomes public tomorrow. The goal is $8.5 million, with $2 million already pledged.

Funding for the Incubator project has been received, and Platteville's Industrial Park will house an Incubator in the near future.

The Nominating Committee has completed the rotation schedule for Advisory Board membership. Committee rotation will be finalized at a later date.

Web-based Course Development

A review of the proposed Web-based courses was initiated by M. Momot. The courses are cleared through the Learning Innovations Center at Madison, a private arm of UW Extension. UWP is in partnership with this agency for their technical support and for for the help line, with UWP providing the expertise in the content area. The courses provide flexibility for the participants and an avenue of either completing a certificate or degree program. Students will work in cohort groups to prevent a feeling of isolation. Participants would initially receive a packet of materials and complete a pre-test to determine the starting module. A question was raised about security for testing. M. Momot indicated there would be certified proctors for all testing. Another question was raised about accessibility for company use at a work site to a group of people, rather than registration as an individual student. The response was that the format is designed for individual registration with payment of tuition and the assignment of a password for accessing the Web site. The option will definitely not be available for on-campus students. Initial test groups from companies represented on the Board are needed. Advisory Board members asked how the College wished to receive their responses to this new initiative. The Dean will write a letter detailing the background, the costs associated with registration, and the response needed from members.

Department chairs were asked to update Board members on new initiatives. M. Anderson, Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, reported that the Environmental Engineering major was in its second year. Four graduates have completed the program. P. Young, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics, distributed a document detailing the Engineering Physics major, which is in its third year. The first two graduates will complete their program in December. The next challenge is if the students' interests match those of industry for employment. M. Muslu, Acting Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, reviewed the program in Software Engineering. The curriculum will include courses in computer science, electrical engineering and software engineering. Two outside reviewers will be identified to review the program. It is hoped that one of the reviewers will be selected from the Advisory Board. The next step is UW System approval for Fall 1999 student enrollment. J. Schneller reported that hardware costs have been exceeded by software costs in the form of maintenance and updates. Software development has become more formalized, and many of the attributes in the composition of software come from the engineering world. Employment data indicates that there are 90,000 programmer openings, with 25,000 jobs created through attrition. Colleges are graduating 30,000 students, leaving a deficit of 80,000. Salaries across the board have increased four to six percent, while programmers have seen an increase of between 8.5 and 10 percent. J. Schneller praised this university's commitment to maintain the standards of its engineering programs through the mathematics and science requirements. L. Riedle, Assistant Dean,reported that the Master's of Engineering was still in the planning stage. Input from Advisory Board members would be appreciated during the luncheon.

Dean Shultz thanked everyone for the updates on the new initiatives. Miners celebrating their 90^th Anniversary have been invited to join the Advisory Board as special luncheon guests. These miners are the foundation upon which the College of EMS was built. The Dean reviewed the afternoon's schedule. Break-out sessions by discipline area will be used to receive input from Advisory Board members for the ABET accreditation process. The ABET report needs to be completed and sent in by the end of 1999. ABET criteria have now been converted to outcome based, which opens up a whole new process of evaluation. UWP will be one of the first institutions to be accredited under the new ABET 2000 criteria. Each break-out group will report back to the full group. The meeting will adjourn in time for the 4:00 dedication of the new "M" steps.

Discussion Group Reports

Civil and Environmental Engineering -The ABET goals were reviewed. It was suggested that the goal of preparing people for jobs should be stated more explicitly, and that the importance of passing the FE exam should also be covered. The group felt that more data should be added on the employers' assessment of students. The same survey used for co-ops should be used for graduates, and the feedback from the immediate supervisors would be a valuable tool.

Electrical Engineering - Program goals were discussed. The goals match what industry is looking for in our graduates. Evaluating ethics was covered, and it was also felt that an employer survey was a critical part.

Engineering Physics/Mechanical Engineering - J. Coenen reported that the information provided for the discussion groups was tremendous and very thorough. The group felt there should be some emphasis on workforce diversity. There should also be an awareness of some of the business skills needed to be successful on the job, such as how to read an annual report. Communication skills are covered in the curriculum, but an emphasis should also be placed on listening skills. The group endorsed the goals and the methods of assessment. The plan shows that the assessment came from many sources. Looking at past graduates through employers is important and significant. The employers have the information available to them to complete the surveys, so that's not a problem.

Industrial Engineering - Two senior Industrial Engineering majors joined the group for discussion. Surveys were perceived as an important tool and should be consistent to build a comparison. The cover letter and the wording will influence whether or not the surveys are returned. It was suggested that parents also be surveyed. Companies who come to recruit could complete a survey similar to the employer's survey. J. Schneller mentioned that employers have an invested interest in providing feedback.

The Dean thanked everyone for their input. Platteville, by being one of the first universities going through the new ABET criteria, can set the bar very high. The next meeting of the Advisory Board will take place on March 26 in conjunction with Engineering Science Expo. Advisory Board members will be receiving an invitation to participate in this event as judges. Members will be receiving committee assignments from S. Bucheger, and also a letter from the Dean concerning involvement in the Web-based courses.

J. Mazanec also thanked everyone for their contribution, and said it was a privilege to be a part of the ABET process. The meeting today was in a format which allowed positive contributions by the members. He wished the College well on their search for a new Dean.